Obama: 'It is suicide' for GOP to not do immigration reform [The Hill]
Republicans
will commit political suicide if they fail to pass immigration reform,
President Obama said Thursday during a town-hall meeting in Los Angeles….He
argued that the demographics of the country were changing and that Hispanics
were becoming a larger part of the population. If Republicans fail to pass
immigration reform, Obama said, a generation could conclude that the party
didn't care about them….Still, the president predicted that immigration reform
would pass Congress before the end of his presidency. “Congress will see the
light because the logic of it is too compelling,” Obama said. "I'm going
to keep fighting on this.”
Fish and Game
Commission ratifies gray wolf findings for California [Mount Shasta News]
The
California Fish and Game Commission drew a crowd for its meeting Wednesday in
Mount Shasta, where it ratified findings supporting the listing of the gray
wolf as an endangered species in California. The species, which is not
considered to be established in the state yet, has been considered recovered
enough to be removed from the federal endangered list….While a number of
speakers urged the commission to not list the wolf, and others celebrated the
listing, Commissioner Michael Sutton reminded everyone that the listing
decision was made months ago at the commission’s June 4 meeting in Fortuna….Speakers
from cattlemen’s associations, farm bureaus and Siskiyou County relayed to the
commission that the California Endangered Species Act limits the types of
management options available to livestock owners in order to thwart predation
by wolves.
Large solar project
approved by Fresno County planning commissioners [Fresno Bee]
Fresno
County planning commissioners on Thursday threw their support behind a massive
solar project south of Tranquillity that has the backing of agriculture,
environmental groups and unions. The Tranquillity Solar project, which bisects
Highway 33 north of West Nebraska and south of West Manning avenues, could
eventually cover 3,732 acres and produce 400 megawatts of
electricity….Construction could get under way within a year, said Marisa
Mitchell with Recurrent Energy….Mitchell told commissioners that Tranquillity
Solar “represents the pinnacle of achievement in environmental siting and
design” because the project is on retired agricultural land, has no surface
water allocation and is subject to a nonirrigation covenant. The soils also are
poor because of exposure to salt and selenium buildup from poor drainage. The
site is in close proximity to high-voltage transmission lines and there are no
sensitive cultural or animal species on the site, she said.
California drought
pushes local food prices higher [Vancouver (B.C.) Sun]
Continued
drought affecting California’s productive Central Valley could push the prices
of some fruits and vegetables in B.C. grocery stores up 34 per cent this year,
according to a new study commissioned by Vancity. B.C. farmers are poorly
positioned to pick up the slack should major price shocks and limited supply
disrupt our access to many popular fruits and vegetables, according to the
author, Brent Mansfield of the University of B.C.’s faculty of land and food
systems….The price of fresh vegetables in B.C. has risen nearly six per cent in
the past year, while the price of fresh fruit is up nearly 10 per cent,
increases that are four to five times higher than the average since 2002, the
report notes. Economic forecasts by experts at the University of Arizona and
the University of Guelph predict the price of California produce could rise
another 20 per cent in the coming year, with lettuce (34 per cent) and broccoli
(22 per cent) leading the way.
Foster Farms CEO Ron
Foster to step down [Modesto Bee]
Ron
Foster announced Thursday that he will step down as president and chief
executive officer of Foster Farms, the poultry company founded by his
grandparents 75 years ago. Foster, 56, will remain an owner and board member
with Foster Farms, which has a vast chicken processing plant next to its
Livingston headquarters and a pair of turkey plants in Turlock. The business
grew 70 percent over the 11 years Foster was at the helm, according to a news
release. He had to deal over the past year and a half with a salmonella
outbreak tied to raw chicken from Livingston and two Fresno plants….Foster
Farms does not publicly detail its finances, but executives told The Bee last
year that annual sales were running about $2.3 billion. They said the
salmonella issue caused an initial drop of 25 percent, but income has
recovered.
Food-delivery
start-ups are fattening up on technology [Los Angeles Times]
…Technology
entrepreneurs have revolutionized the way people shop for clothing, find
vacation rentals and flag down taxis. Now they're shaking up the world of
eating. Whole Foods Market Inc. is partnering with start-up Instacart to
deliver groceries to shoppers' doorsteps, and tech behemoths Amazon.com Inc.
and Google Inc. are also testing delivery services. A new crop of start-ups is
popping up that carry piping-hot meals to homes or offices from fancy
restaurants that normally don't deliver. Some will deliver pre-sliced
ingredients for a gourmet meal to your doorstep. Others are aggregating local
chefs in an easy-to-search website to cook for your next dinner party. Helping
drive this golden period in food innovation: busy Americans who have less time
to cook and are keener than ever to boast on Instagram about their delicious
meals. Many new companies cater to affluent shoppers working around food
allergies or on trendy diets that ban entire food groups.
Ag
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